cheap hay

[Reed77]

Do cattle do goos on cheap hay? I have horses and know that they need good quality to stay healthy, but I've been told cattle don't need the best quality to be healthy and keep the weight on. Is this true? I'm looking into dexter cattle!

[springvalley]

While it is true cattle can tolerate lesser quality hay, they also need and do better on higher quality hay. Sometimes you have to feed what you have or can get, if it`s a money issue. But if you can afford better hay , then spend your money and buy good hay for your cattle. > Thanks Marc

[rancher1913]

I know that at 65 dollars a ton I can feed and still make money, so thats what I'll pay for feed. some years its great stuff some years its straw with protein tubs. most years its corn stalks and they do just fine.

[Oakshire_Farm]

My horses have always gotten the lesser quality hay, cows need better quality than horses. That is my opinion I have dairy cows(Jerseys), which do need a better feed if they are milking and draft horses and draft crosses, they get fat just breathing. It may be different with Thoroughbreds and Beef Cows?

[Ronney]

It's really not a matter of how cheap it is but what's in it. I've looked at cheap hay that is full of carrot weed and penny royal which to me is just rubbish that the cows won't eat. On the other hand I've bought in cheap hay that while not being high quality, is at least grass and the cows clean it up and maintain condition on it - and these are winter milking cows.

Hay is mainly a maintenance/filler and if cattle of any type go into the winter in good condition, even poor hay will help keep that condition on. I am looking at it from the perspective of a grass fed farming operation where hay is used as a maintenance feed over winter, if needed.

Cheers,
Ronnie

[tinknal]

Around here, plain grass is considered "horse hay". The good stuff with clover or alfalfa is for cows.

[genebo]

It's true that cattle don't need the best quality hay to keep healthy and fit. That means that they don't need alfalfa and timothy, that are often really high priced. But hay is their primary food, that they use to build and maintain their bodies. You can't feed them weeds and straw and expect them to prosper, or even survive. Moldy hay is bad for cows. It can kill them.

Dexters are known to be good at feed conversion and like to browse, not just graze. They eat tree leaves, bark and some grasses that other cattle pass up, but overall, they'll still need to meet their minimum nutritional requirements.

If you don't feed them well, you'll encounter health problems.

Genebo
Paradise Farm

Today is a good day to give thanks to the servicemen who defend our way of life.

[Reed77]

I feed my horses alfalfa twice a day. How often/much would I have to feed a dexter on this 'cheaper' hay, considering it's not straw/weed and not moldy.

[lasergrl]

I fed a 6 month old dexter through winther on 3 flakes a day of grass/trefoil first cut with a few handfulls of sweet feed a day. Once she got closer to a year and it was winter she needed more like 4 flakes a day and a protein block was out and she was good condition. I would go more by how well they maintain then a set amount of how much. I did move her to the big field and between her and a 3 year old pregnant highland, they finished up a round bale every 10 days, of $30 4X5 first cut.

[Yvonne's hubby]

I have a few beef cows that give me calves every year. they have grass pasture with a small amount of ladino clover about seven months out of the year, and they get the grass and weeds that I roll up for hay the other five months. I keep a TM block out for them most of the time, water is from the pond and they are all happy, fat and slick year round.

[DJ in WA]

It depends on what your horses and cows are doing.

Most horses are doing nothing, and don't need great nutrition. Protein is needed for growth or pregnancy or milk production. Most adult horses are doing none of these. Alfalfa is high protein, which is wasted with most horses, though their urine would make good fertilizer.

Cattle had better be growing into meat, making babies, and/or milking. You need protein and energy.

I have bought cheaper hay for cows, but it seems for another $20 a ton, I can get much better quality. Finer stemmed alfalfa that is more digestible and needs less to be fed.

[oregon woodsmok]

Beef cattle don't need dairy quality alfalfa (which is the most expensive) but they do need protein to grow and make muscle or develop a calf.

I know people who buy really cheap moldy hay for their cattle. Around here it is sold as "cattle hay".

But to me, one cow dying of bloat wipes out the savings on a lot of tons of cheap hay.

Fresh pasture grass is the best. Cattle can use cellulose for food and digest it just fine for calories. So for mine, summer is pasture with a handful of grain and free choice mineral. For winter, I buy some lower grade, but clean, grass hay and that is out 24/7 fed free choice. Then twice a day, each cow gets a flake of good clean leafy alfalfa or orchard grass plus some good quality, but lower protein hay (which means it is cheaper) like correctly baled oat hay.

The alfalfa and grain gives them all the protein they need to grow. Then if they are still hungry, they can fill in the cracks with cheaper hay and use that to burn for body heat.

If you have dairy cows, they need the very best top quality protein and balanced nutrition grain if you expect them to produce milk. Dairy cattle are working really hard and they need fuel to do it.